The LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce will hold the September luncheon, sponsored by the Howe-LaGrange Agency at the Carriage House, located at 5280 S 500 W in Topeka, Indiana.

The presentation will be given by the LaGrange County Historical Society. The topic will be “History of Businesses in LaGrange County”.

Bring your appetites as The Carriage House will serve Poppy seed Chicken, Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, noodles, broccoli cauliflower salad, assorted pies and drinks.

Reservations can be made by phoning 260·463·2443 or email: info@lagrangechamber.org.

Cost of the luncheon is $12.00 for members and their guests. $17.00 for the public. Reservations are due by October 7th.

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Chamber News • Business publication of the LaGrange County (IN) Chamber of Commerce • Phone 260-463-2443 • Oct. 2019

We’re all about bu$iness but have fun too!

October Luncheon to be Held at the Carriage House

Monthly Luncheon

October 10th

The Carriage HouseSponsored by Howe LaGrange Agency

Luncheon begins at 12:00 noon

Registration begins at 11:15 a.m.

RSVP by Oct. 7th

5280 S 500 W Topeka, IN 46571

Each year in November, the LaGrange County Chamber holds a fundraising event to benefit the Boomerang Backpack and Bless-ings in a Backpack programs. This year’s event will take place on November 6th at the Shipshewana Event Center.

The evening is fun with a great purpose and includes pop-up shops, dinner, fashion show and live purse & wal-let auction.

The event would not be possible without our gener-ous event sponsors, NIPSCO, Lakeland Title, Precision Financial Group, Miller’s Merry Manor and the Blue Gate Restaurant, Theatre, Inn & Shops. A huge bonus is that the LaGrange County Community Foundation will match the first $12,000.00 raised!

The proceeds from the event will feed county school aged children who need food over the weekends and dur-ing the holiday breaks. The money is distributed evenly over LaGrange county's three school districts to benefit their respective backpack programs.

This year’s model line up as of this publication are: Eva Merkel, Jeff Reed, Randy Miller, Kyle Phillip, Janell-Dickerson, Danielle Hill, Lydia Wolheter, and Natalie Glick. Participating retailers are: You-nique Bou-tique, Sarah Davis, The Cinnamon Stick, Topeka Pharmacy, Cariloha, The Craftsman’s Daughter, Options, Our Front Porch, Shipshe Casuals and Head Over Heels.

To purchase tickets, sponsor the event, donate a purse or wallet, phone the Chamber at 260·463·2443 or email us at info@lagrangechamber.org.

Help us assure that “No Tummy Goes Hungry”!

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Jody Holsinger Mike Thomas Realtors

Jordi DislerParkview LaGrange Hospital

Kerry SprungerFarmers State Bank

Ervin MillerE&S Wood Creations

Andy LinderTrading Post Outfitters

Anu SahniAll That Jazz

Sandy Sturtz RinglerHeartland Insurance Partners

Jennifer HarkerSerenity Salon

Sheldon ShrockEdward Jones - Shipshewana

Mike PatkaGrogg-Martin Auctioneering

Dan BylerLaGwana

ChamberDirectors & Staff

Beth ShermanExecutive Director

director@lagrangechamber.org

Melissa PettitAdministrative Assistant

info@lagrangechamber.org

901 South Detroit St.LaGrange, IN 46761

260-463-2443

The Chamber News is a member publication and is distributed free of charge to businesses in LaGrange County and surrounding areas. Advertising in the Chamber News is available only to Chamber members who invest in the business community by supporting the Chamber.

Everidge Motor SalesTopeka GraphicsSylvan Cellars

Michiana Event CenterWill’s Heating & Air

First United Methodist ChurchGoshen Home Medical

Mirror Lake Bed & BreakfastErnsberger & Helmer

Hoosier BanquetsYou-nique Bou-tique

Simply PaperHMS Host (Toll Road Plaza)

Insurance & Financial ServicesGreat Lakes Pest Control

Van Buren HotelIrving Sand & Gravel

Davis MercantileFour Woods Laminating

The Howe RestaurantCrossroad Tours

Efthimou CPA GroupForks County Line Stores

Ace Hardware of LaGrangeStroh Farm SupplySubway - LaGrangeHoneyville PropaneLaGrange County

Habitat for HumanityEverlast Roofing

Mt. Zion Lutheran ChurchStaff:

Corn SchoolOctober 1st - 5th

DowntownLaGrange, Indiana

Righteous BrothersOctober 26th

Shipshewana Event CenterShipshewana, IN

Shipshewana Trading Place Swap MeetOctober 19th

Shipshewana Auction Shipshewana, IN

Renewing Members

Tusk – The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac TributeOctober 11th

Shipshewana Event CenterShipshewana, Indiana

Kenny GOctober 18th

Shipshewana Event CenterShipshewana, IN

Fall Crafter’s Fair October 4th & 5th

Michiana Event Center Shipshewana, IN

Thank you!

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Emerging Leaders of LaGrange County

Sam Lovelace, President111 West Lafayette Rd.

LaGrange, IN 46761info@emergingleadersoflagrange.com

New Members

Welcome to the Chamber

Congratulations are in order to Chamber Member, Beers, Mallers, Backs & Salin, LLP as the The Fort Wayne Newspapers Readers’ Choice Winners were re-cently announced:

Best Attorney – Elder Law BEERS MALLERS BACKS & SALIN, LLP

Best Attorney – General Practice  BEERS MALLERS BACKS & SALIN, LLP

Best Law Firm BEERS MALLERS BACKS & SALIN, LLP

The following statement was given by attorney Kurt Bachman, “We are honored to serve the businesses, municipalities, and community of LaGrange County”.

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E&M Sales Joins Chamber Membership

Pictured from left to right are: Taylor Stidham, Westview School Corporation; Amber Titus, Trine University; Deb Sills, Miller’s Merry Manor; Mike Patka, Grogg-Martin Auctioneers & Realty; Beth Sherman, LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce; and Nathan Poe, Lake City Bank.

E&M Sales recently joined the LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce. E&M is owned by MaynardHershberger and family. Their store specializes in camp-ing supplies and has an abundant supply of discounted merchandise that changes weekly.

E&M is located at 6580W 550N, Shipshewana, Indi-ana, and open Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-p.m. Closed Sunday. Phone them at 260-768-4968.

Ambassadors Hold Ribbon Cutting for New Compassion Pregnancy Location

LaGrange County Chamber Ambas-sadors and Compassion Pregnancy Volun-teers held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the Compassion Pregnancy’s new location and remodel completion of their building.

Susan Young, Executive Director at Compassion Pregnancy told attendees about the services they provide at the center. The volunteer based organization helps women that face an unplanned pregnancy. Compassion Pregnancy is there to encourage, equip and empower women to make the best decision for them. Young went on to tell the group that expectant mothers can take parenting classes to earn merits. Those merits then can be cashed in to purchase baby clothes and equipment.

The organization is currently accepting volunteers to help out at the office and are also looking for people to serve as board members. They also accept donations of children's clothing and equipment for ages newborn to three years.

To find out more about the organization or to sign up to volunteer, stop in and see them at 221 S. Detroit Street in LaGrange. Their hours are: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Reach out to Compassion Pregnancy at 463·7377.

Pictured above are the volunteer members of the LaGrange Compassion Pregnancy Center and LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassadors.

Company Challenge: Respecting and Protecting the Environment

Congratulations! Team Jordan Younce of Farmers State Bank for gaining financial support and organizing a team of four from the Topeka and Millersburg branches of Farmers State Bank. The Team collected fifteen bags of misplaced items (trash) to clean up our local environment at Trading Post Outfitters in Mongo, Indiana. This made them the winning team of the LaGrange County Health Co-alition latest challenge. This challenge was in collaboration with the Trading Post Outfitters.

The Team will receive a two hundred dollar cash prize, a canoe trip, and two cozies from the LaGrange County Health Coalition and Trading Post Outfitters.

This challenge is one of many being sponsored by the LaGrange County Health Coalition as the health coalition focuses on Worksite Wellness. It is no secret that employee wellness affects the Bottom Line in a business. Listed are four costs that can be affected by offering an employee wellness plan: Reduced health insurance costs; Reduced absenteeism; Increased productivity; Increased job satisfac-tion, employee retention, and recruiting

For information on Worksite Wellness contact Debby Pontecorvo at dponteco@purdue.edu or call 260-499-6334.

Quinn Groff- FSB- Topeka Branch, Danielle Hill – FSB – Tope-ka Branch, Emily Barton - FSB – Millersburg Branch, and Jordan Younce FSB – Topeka Branch.

800-654-9415 or 574-533-06261501 South Main Street - Goshen, IN 46526

LaGrange County Emergency Man-agement is continuing to strive to help make LaGrange County better prepared to pro-vide the best resources for the community during a disaster. A COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) is an as-sociation of humanitarian organizations, local govern-ment, and businesses that participate in all phases of a disaster situation. The goal is to streamline service deliv-ery by bringing together all of the agencies that provide disaster relief services.

It will be the mission of the LaGrange County COAD to bring together organizations that provide hu-manitarian and volunteer services to create a coordinated response to urgent needs caused by disaster.

A COAD will help keep the people and jobs in the community after the disaster is over.

You, or a representative of your firm or organization, are invited to an informational meeting to be held on October 21st at 6:30 p.m in the Annex building at 114 W. Michigan Street, LaGrange, Indiana. Joining us at our kick off meeting will be Jane Crady, coordinator for the Catholic Charities Disaster Preparedness and Response.

Please RSVP to: ● W. Donald Wismer – 260-463-4719

WWismer@lagrangecounty.org● Dalonda Young – 260-463-6384

DYoung@lagrangecounty.org ● Jennifer McBride – 260-499-6394

Deadline for reservations is October 16th!

Learn to be Prepared for Disaster Informational Meeting to be Held

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Interra Credit Union Announces Senior Level Promotions Phil Wiens, Angie Pletcher and Joel Richard have been promoted to se-

nior level positions at Interra Credit Union, Goshen, Amy Sink, CEO, announced today.

With nearly 30 years of experience at Interra in a variety of leadership roles, Wiens has been promoted to Senior Vice President/Chief Lending Officer, leading various lending divisions, treasury manage-ment and wealth services. Wiens has a breadth of experience throughout the organization, previ-ously holding executive positions in lending, retail and operations. He also has worked in consumer and mortgage lending and as a commercial lender for more than a decade. Originally from Kansas, Wiens earned a bachelor’s degree from Goshen College. He has been active in the community, with previous involvement on the Oaklawn Hospital Board of Directors; Nappanee Boys and Girls Club; Elkhart County Fair Finance Committee and Foundation Committee and Goshen Noon Kiwanis. Wiens and his wife, Krista, have two children, Kennedy and Cooper, and

reside in Nappanee. Pletcher has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management at Interra. With

added responsibilities, she plans and executes internal and external risk management strategies and managing regulatory change, including interaction with regulators. Pletcher directs and provides oversight to a variety of teams at the credit union, including those working in the areas of the Bank Secrecy Act, deposit and lending compliance, vendor management, collections and workout, and Security and Loss Prevention

With 20 years of experience at Interra, Pletcher has primarily focused her career in the areas of compliance and enterprise risk management. She has completed several certifications through the credit union industry, including Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert (CUERME) designation and Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Specialist (BSACS). She is frequently called upon to participate in risk, compliance and fraud roundtables. A lifelong Goshen resident, Pletcher grad-uated from Goshen High School and earned an Associate of Arts degree from Vincennes University/Indianapolis campus, in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies. She and her hus-

band, Chad, have two adult daughters, Carly and McKenzie. Pletcher is an active member of her church, including in-volvement in its safety program.

Richard has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Member Experience, having most recently served as Vice President of Retail Operations. He leads a team that is re-sponsible for the member branch experience. He also oversees all Interra facilities projects and maintenance.

Since joining the Interra staff more almost 12 years ago, Richard has held many leadership roles within the branch and retail divisions, as well as operations, security and loss prevention . “A lifelong Elkhart County resident, Richard graduated from NorthWood High School, Nappanee, and went on to Manchester University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He and his wife, Jami, live in the Dunlap area with their two young children, Brax-ton and Jade. He has been a member of Goshen Noon Kiwanis and is active in his church, where he has held a variety of leadership positions.

Phil Wiens

Joel Richard

Angie Pletcher

Interra, headquartered in Goshen, Indiana, has assets of $1.2 billion. The credit union’s field of membership spans 18 counties in northern Indiana, with more than 300 employees serving nearly 81,000 members. Interra operates 15 offices in Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall and Noble counties in Indi-ana and via a suite of robust electronic services at interracu.com.

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PRESORT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLAGRANGE, INPERMIT NO. 176

Current Resident or

Members & Non Members receive this newsletter……..Are you an Active Member of the LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce?

901 S. Detroit St.LaGrange, IN 46761

“No Tummy Goes Hungry”

4:30 pm Pop-Up Shops6:00 pm Dinner7:00 pm Auction

Tickets$30.00 each or 2/$50.00

Proceeds going to the Boomerang Backpack and Blessings in a Backpack programs. All three school corporations benefit from this Power of the Purse & Wallet.

Phone - 260·463·2443for more information or

to purchase tickets

New this year……

Pop-Up Shops